Pre-moistened wipes or hygiene tissue, are commonly used for cleansing different parts of the human body. Examples of specific uses are baby care, hand wiping, feminine care and toilet paper or a complement to toilet paper.
Since a long period of time often elapses from the time of manufacture of pre-moistened wipes until the time of use, they must have a sufficient structural integrity for their intended wiping function during such period. Adding a wet strength agent to the wipe will provide such wet integrity. However, especially when used as toilet paper, there is a strong desire that the wipe or tissue can be flushed in the sewer without causing problems with blocked pipes and filters. Wipes or tissue having a high wet strength will not disintegrate or break up into small fibre clumps when flushed in conventional household toilet systems, which may cause plugging of the drainage system.
Previously moist flushable pre-moistened toilet papers which were on the market were flushable due to their small size. They could move along the drainage and sewage pipes, but were not readily dispersible and could therefore cause problems with blocked pipes and filters. Nowadays disintegratable materials are available for use in flushable wipes and hygiene tissue.
WO 02/44454 discloses a laminate nonwoven web that is flushable. The nonwoven web is produced by providing first and second nonwoven layers on a moving support and laminating the two layers by pattern hydroentanglement. Hydroentanglement manifolds with jet clusters are used having a plurality of jet orifices separated from each other. The jet clusters thus organized in separate and distinct clusters creates alternating strongly bonded areas and weakly bonded areas along MD (machine direction). These weakly bonded areas allow the laminate to delaminate, thus making it flushable.
US 2012/0199301 discloses a flushable moist wipe or hygiene tissue comprising a hydroentangled nonwoven material. The moist wipe has a relatively low strength in CD (cross direction) and a length in MD which exceeds the width in CD with at least 25%. The low strength CD strength makes it possible for the wipe to disintegrate when flushed in a sewer.
EP 1 333 868 discloses flushable pre-moistened absorbent products comprising mechanically weakened web, wherein the mechanically weakened region comprises at least 20% of the total area of the product. The mechanical weakening can be accomplished by cutting, slitting, perforating, tensioning, ring rolling and the like.
There is however still a need for a moist wipe or hygiene tissue which has sufficient structural integrity for its intended wiping function but which is readily disintegratable when flushed in a sewer.